09/05/2026
The Spirit of Alaska Declaration: Remembering Who We Are
By Edward D. Martin, Jr.
When I came to Alaska in the mid-1960s, the words “North to Alaska” still carried a special energy. John Wayne’s 1960 film had helped project an image of Alaska as a place where people went toward something: toward work, adventure, independence, risk, opportunity, and a chance to build a life that might not have been possible somewhere else.1
That picture was romanticized, of course. Real Alaska was colder, harder, more complicated, and far more diverse than Hollywood could capture. But the feeling was real. Alaska drew people who were willing to work, improvise, endure distance, help a neighbor, and take responsibility for what came next. We did not come north expecting someone else to build everything for us.
“North to Alaska” once meant going toward possibility. The question for us now is: What are Alaskans going toward today? ...
When I came to Alaska in the mid-1960s, the words “North to Alaska” still carried a special energy. John Wayne’s 1960 film had helped project an image of Alaska as a place where people went toward something: toward work, adventure, independence, risk, opportunity, and a chance to build a life ...
